All nine PCMS students earned their place at the table.
First, each competitor aced a school-wide test, scoring near the top of their class. Then, on Wednesday morning, they filed into the middle school library and took a seat.
For the next half hour, the students answered questions from the first round of the 2019 National Geographic Bee. The winner would have a chance to compete at the state and national level.
Longtime geography teacher, John Keitz, moderated. Vicki Gillis kept score. Parents and grandparents gathered in the school library to support their favorite geographer.
Would a sixth grader be the next champion? Jacob Burke, Tyler Miller and Landon Smith hoped so. They each competed in the Bee for the first time.
Or would the new champ be a seventh grader? Rylee Renfroe, Madyson Grenz and Taylor Garland represented their class. Garland competed in last year’s school-wide contest.
Or, maybe an eighth grader would win. Jack Knight and Wyatt Diaz competed one last time along Kaylen Halverson, new to the district from Dayton, Nev. Next fall, all three head to PCHS to join the freshman Class of 2023.
Diaz, the defending school-wide champ, smiled at his mom, seated front and center. Keitz fired off questions about plateaus, plains, canyons and capitals.
All nine students demonstrated geographic knowledge and good sportsmanship. Diaz successfully defended his title. Knight and Miller finished second and third.
Diaz hopes to become a chef. On Eighth Grade Career Day he wore the requisite headgear and jacket.
When asked what part of the world he’d most like to visit, Diaz did not hesitate.
“I’d choose Florida because of the water,” he said. “And I have a little brother and sister that would love to see Disneyworld.”
Keitz presented Diaz with a medal. But there was more work to do. Each schoolwide champ takes a proctored online qualifying test. The top 100 qualify for the state competition in Las Vegas on March 29.
The state champs compete in the National Championship in Washington, D. C. May 19-22. The sky’s the limit. Thousands of dollars in scholarships are up for grabs.
Keitz views the contest as a way to spark interest in geography.
“We deal with countries all over the planet as friends and enemies,” he said. “But many Americans have no idea where these countries are located and know little to nothing about the people who live there.”
Keitz urges his students to learn about different regions of the world.
“Without this understanding we can’t make informed decisions about the issues regarding those regions, the opportunities they present and the dangers we face,” he said.
For more information about the Nat Geo Bee, visit nationalgeographic.org.
